The exceptional popularity and box office draw of the Harry Potter films is never more evident tonight than in a new article from Screen Daily which states that “Warner Bros is on the cusp of crossing the $1billion domestic milestone as it launches Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince around the globe.” The piece continues to say that Half-Blood Prince “was set to open in approximately 3,000 midnight screenings across
North America on Wednesday. By the end of the weekend it will have
launched in roughly 4,300 theatres. The film is expected to
dominate the box office for several weeks and conservative estimates
have forecast a five-day weekend in the $140m region.”

Even more eye opening is the following:

“To date every episode in the highly profitable series has taken more than $249.5m domestically, with Sorcerer’s Stone setting the high-water mark of $317.6m by the end of its run in February 2002.

Overseas,
each film in the franchise has consistently scored more than $546m and
a soaring international run would appear to be on the cards yet again
as Warner Bros Pictures International aims to join its domestic
counterpart in the $1bn club. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix set the overseas record of $646.2m two years ago.

The
film debuts in the UK, Japan, Australia, France, South Korea, Spain,
Italy and Brazil on Wednesday as a prelude to the company’s biggest
day-and-date conventional and IMAX release yet. By the end of the first
weekend it will have opened in more than 14,000 screens in 54 markets
including all the majors, accounting for roughly 85% of total markets.”

77 Responses to WB Set to Cross One Billion Mark as Half-Blood Prince Opens with 3,000 Midnight Showings